The invention herein described is a console specifically designed for the suction tubes of suction units used in dentistry. These suction units for dental use are provided with suction tubes which are used for the extraction of blood, saliva, rinsing water and other foreign bodies which accumulate in the patient's mouth during the course of a session of treatment.
When not in use these tubes are placed in housings, usually fork-shaped, varying in number according to the number of tubes and located on a console to which the tubes are usually attached by means of a flexible hose through which is created at the mouth of the tube the vacuum necessary to inducing suction.
Also connected to the console by means of a further hose are the means whereby a vacuum is produced, these normally being suction pumps of one kind or another.
There is normally some provision made in the console for means whereby the suction within a tube may be arrested when the latter is replaced on the actual console, means for arresting the operation of the pump when all the tubes are replaced on the console, and means for effecting a first stage filtering of the spittle withdrawn from the patient's mouth by the tube.
To be able to perform these functions the consoles above-mentioned need to be of somewhat large dimensions, this factor often being a source of difficulty in that the available space surrounding the operator's work area is often restricted, and they present a rather complex character, a factor which brings with it difficulties and above all, increased production costs.
Such consoles are usually fixed to the dentist's main assembly so that it may happen, during the course of treatment, the dentist finds himself in such a position that only with difficulty can he replace the tube on, or withdraw it from the console.
The object of the invention herein described is to eliminate the above-mentioned inconveniences by providing a console of considerably reduced dimensions, which is simple and inexpensive to produce.
A further object of the invention herein described is to provide a console in which cleaning and maintenance operations are rendered extremely simple both the frequent ones such as the removal and cleaning of the filter, or the occasional ones, for example, cleaning or replacement, in case of breakdown, of pneumatic or electrical parts.
A further object of the invention herein described is to provide a console which allows the dentist to replace the tube on, or withdraw it from the console comfortably, no matter what position he happens to find himself in.